Mum reveals which shops sell cheapest school uniform - plus 7 tips to save cash

I am mum to three boys - aged 14, 12 and 9 - and have done the back-to-school shop so many times.

I have tried and tested everything to save as much as I possibly can.

To save and get the best bargains the best time to start the shopping is now.

The back to school offers are available from Aldi much earlier this year, online from July 3 and in store from July 7.

Here, I am going to talk primary and secondary school uniforms.

From experience, secondary uniforms can be a minefield and be very expensive - but there are ways to cut costs.

Lynn is mum to three boys (Phil Harris)

Write a shopping list

Write a list, just like your grocery shop, of everything that you need for your back-to-school shopping.

Here are some ideas.

• Polo shirts for primary school
• Button up formal shirts for secondary school
• Trousers for secondary school
• Shorts for primary school
• Jumpers for primary school
• Blazer and tie for secondary school
• Sports kit
• PE Trainers
• School shoes
• Stationery
• Packed Lunch Box
• Drinks Bottle
• Name labels

Can you find buy second-hand?

Ask friends with older children if they have any uniforms in good condition that can be passed down.

This is hugely useful for more expensive items such as secondary school blazers or PE kits where you are instructed to have school badges on them.

All schools have a second-hand shop where uniforms can be purchased for much lower prices.

Browse your local Facebook pages for school uniform and try to get as much as you can at the lower prices.

Lynn shares her money-saving tips (Phil Harris)

Cheap polo shirts, buttoned formal shirts, shorts, trousers

The supermarkets have worked hard to make these basic uniforms as low in price as possible.

You can get a full uniform (jumper, two polo tops, skirt or trousers) for £5 in Aldi this year.

I have tried and tested supermarket uniforms over the years and the quality is good.

I have bought in the past from Aldi, Asda and Tesco.

Aldi is normally the cheapest by far and is perfect for polo shirts and jumpers.

However, most supermarkets are still yet to announce their bundles and deals.

Many primary schools allow non logo uniform thankfully.

I like Asda for school shorts and trousers, along with multi packs of formal shirts for secondary school.

Jumpers without logos are great from the supermarket costing around £5 for two jumpers.

Cheap school shoes

I have found school shoe shopping to be stressful, particularly when the children go through two to three pairs of shoes a year.

I do not buy expensive anymore. I have tried to buy quality in the past, but they still don’t last after the endless playground wear and tear.

For secondary school we go to shops such as Next for bigger men sized shoes.

Standard lace-up black smart shoes are around £35. Compared to an equivalent in Clarks at £15 more.

For primary school shoes, I have always bought a £20ish pair of plain black trainers. They double up for PE as well.

I have experimented with the supermarket school shoes but have struggled with quality.

Cheap uniform with a school badge

I am very frustrated that there are so few shops that sell the official uniform with school badges.

A school blazer for secondary school is generally only available at one shop, and they therefore charge whatever they want, more than £50 in my experience.

The same applies to secondary school PE kit. I remember paying more than £100 for PE shorts, t-shirt, socks and jumper.

Consider buying second hand hand-me-downs. And of course, buy big so they last as long as possible!

Cheap stationery, packed lunch boxes and drinks bottles

Plastic containers are perfect for lunchboxes.

Sturdy and not embarrassing for secondary school and cost £2/3 rather than up to £10 for a fabric branded lunch box.

I send all my children to school with packed lunches and save a small fortune compared to school dinners.

The drinks bottles I have bought this year are metal, as the plastic ones are dropped and break.

I found some great bottles that keep drinks cold for 12 hours for £5 in Asda. I even bought one for myself.

Stationery is often something that you have a lot of already at home.

Raid those drawers of doom and locate all the lost pens, pencils, and rubbers.

Again, the supermarkets have a great essentials range of stationery.

Cheap name labels

A great tip for labels is to put all your children’s names on the label - then you can use the same label for all the children.

And who has time for iron on labels, sticky ones are fine. Or do as I do and write the name with a sharpie on the washing label.